When crowdfunding empowers social innovation

Submitted by srandjelovic on Tue, 2016-11-08 19:10.

Crowdfunding is often used for that kind of innovation that changes communities and empowers them in every sense: social innovation. The Apadrinaunolivo.org association used crowdfunding to help them build an olive oil factory in the rural area of Oliete, Spain. They had 95% of all funds but they wanted to launch a campaign in order to raise awareness and create solidarity with local farmers. Finally, they managed to crowdsource 14 715 EUR.

Let’s take you through their journey.

This was not the association’s first crowdfunding campaign. As a matter of fact, showing that it is fine to fail and to learn from one’s mistakes, the association had the exactly same campaign only a year earlier, which was unsuccessful. They mention lack of knowledge of CF before they launched their first campaign, and that they did it alone as the main reasons of failure. This time around, they hired a CF expert who according to Apadrinaunolivo.org helped them a lot :“he really pushed us to the limit and motivated us, he pressured the platform to include us in the newsletters and that was crucial for us”.

The CF campaign was launched on a Spanish platform called Verkami at the beginning of May 2016 and was closed at the end of June, raising a total of 14,715.00€, out of the 12,000€ pledged initially. A total of 242 investors participated in the campaign. The CF project had, thus, a successful outcome, exceeding the targeted goal 4 days before its end.

The CF campaign was characterized by 3 main success factors:

The CF professional hired, who managed the overall campaign and provided guidance and motivation

The capacity to engage a wide community of people genuinely interested in supporting the project from all over Spain

Visibility on social media, TV shows and newsletters

As we already mentioned, this campaign was not about gathering funds from the beginning, it was about creating solidarity, and impact on the wider society and economy.

Apadrinaunolivo.org believes that the construction of the oil mill will have the following impacts:

Environment: Improve the area’s landscape and decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. The oil mill factory will also significantly contribute to the recovery of the centenary olive groves

Economy: Increase the production of olive oil for the area, increase tourism by making the factory a touristic site. Improve the work of Oliete’s 50 farmers

Society: create workplaces and help those with intellectual disabilities, given that people from the ATADI (Asociación de Padres de Discapacitados Intelectuales de Andorra) will be hired to work in the factory

Culture : promotion of local culture

The campaign was not only beneficial for the region, but also for Apadrinaunolivo.org. The ability to successfully complete the CF campaign and go beyond the targeted goal of more than 2,000€ improved the association’s reputation in the market. It demonstrated skills, passion, and determination on the behalf of the project’s team, which thus positively impacted its capacity building.

Now, we have questions for you!
Should the EU provide dedicated support to inexperienced fundraiser? Should it facilitate /support access to services of CF consultants?
And if so, how should they be designed?

Let us know below in comments or send an email to crowd4inno@open-evidence.com (link sends e-mail) and don't forget to follow us on Twitter @crowd4inno.

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